A Johnson County man has been sentenced to serve four months in federal prison for his role in cockfighting in Eastern Kentucky. Chris Prater, 44, of Frozen Branch, Hagerhill, is the only one of six defendants indicted in connection with fights held at the American Testing Facility, also known as Isom and the Whitesburg Chicken Pit to receive a jail sentence.
According to Prater’s plea agreement, between February 2021 through February 2022, American Testing Facility hosted animal fighting ventures which were events in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce that involved cockfights between at least two roosters for the purposes of sport, wagering or entertainment.
American Testing Facility, according to the agreement, contained stadium-style seating, a central cockfighting pit, additional side pits, a concession stand, an area for weighing birds, a station for sharpening animal fighting instruments (gaffs) and storage areas for storing live birds.
The agreement said American Testing Facility collected admission fees, sold concessions and paid a fee to enter roosters into the fights.
According to Prater’s plea agreement, between February 2021 through February 2022, American Testing Facility hosted animal fighting ventures which were events in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce that involved cockfights between at least two roosters for the purposes of sport, wagering or entertainment.
American Testing Facility, according to the agreement, contained stadium-style seating, a central cockfighting pit, additional side pits, a concession stand, an area for weighing birds, a station for sharpening animal fighting instruments (gaffs) and storage areas for storing live birds.
The agreement said American Testing Facility collected admission fees, sold concessions and paid a fee to enter roosters into the fights.
Prater’s attorney, Sebastian M. Joy, wrote in a Jan. 9 memorandum asking for leniency in sentencing that Prater’s involvement in the case was limited compared to co-defendants’ actions, and that cockfighting has a history in the community.
“Chicken fighting has a very long history and cultural background,” Joy wrote. “That does not justify the crime, and the defendant is not making that argument, however it does provide the court with some context to how someone like Chris Prater would involve himself in this activity. In our local Appalachian community chicken fighting has been considered, though wrongly so, as harmless entertainment.“With Mr. Prater’s educational limitations he did not understand that it was a crime and believed it was a violation subject to a fine much like a speeding ticket,” Joy continued.
The two individuals charged in the indictment with operating American Testing Facility — Virgil Saylor and Tina Miller — have pleaded guilty and are set to sentenced on Jan. 23.
